The Toronto Star, however, revealed a week later the cost of building a new prototype reactor was a frightening $ 26 billion – about $ 20 billion more than Ontario estimated in 2006. For $ 26 billion Ontario could buy double the amount of green power.

Today’s announcement by Bruce Power shows that even the nuclear industry is having difficulty keeping up the charade that it can afford to build reactors without billions in subsidies.

There’s a lesson here. The nuclear lobby has run a successful public relations campaign and made many – including many politicians - believe the nuclear revival was done deal. This unfortunately has diverted much time and valuable public resources from the development of less risky and cost-effective solutions to climate change.

While Canada’s nuclear lobby may be good at public relations, today’s announcement shows again it can’t deliver on its own promise of cheap nuclear power.

The nuclear industry’s public relations campaign won’t keep the lights on or stop climate change. Worse, it's been distracting us from real solutions.

Time to stop dreaming of cheap nuclear power and get on to developing proven and cost-effective green power.

It's amazing what lobbying or Public Relations can really do. But it's good that it's come to this. I'm sure there are many other inventions made in Canada that will do instead of these reactors. They just need to be discovered and supported.

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Kevin
says:

Mr. Stensil....just a comment regarding your article......You may think that this is a victory, but to me it is another example of what I call the "Avro-Arrow" effect....Canada having spearheaded the use of nuclear power will now lose its ability to build another reactor......France has the lowest carbon footprint in Europe and generates 79% of its power from some 59 reactors, with total capacity of over 63 GWe supplying over 430 billion kWh per year of electricity France is the world's largest net exporter of electricity due to it’s very low cost of generation and gains over EUR 3 billion per year from this. It is now building its first Generation III reactor and planning a second. France now claims a substantial level of energy independence and almost the lowest cost electricity in Europe. It also has an extremely low level of CO2 emissions per capita from electricity generation, since over 90% of its electricity is nuclear or hydro. It’s a sad state of affairs but then I guess that’s what most Canadians want....or at least that’s what they have been told they want....let’s just hope you guys are right...I think you are wrong and that we are heading into a mediocre future. I think I might just immigrate to France.......